Good Guy
by Christine M. Greenleaf
Summary: SerenaPotterSailorMoon sent me a challenge to write a story where Batman and Harley Quinn are a couple. This is the result, which I hope will satisfy both the Batman/Harley shipper in her and the Joker/Harley shipper in me! :-)
1. Chapter 1

**Good Guy**

The bat-signal shone brightly beside the moonlight, cutting through the clouds. Harley Quinn sat in the Batmobile, gazing up at it fondly. She had used to hate it more than anything else in the world – the sign that summoned the Bat to ruin her and Mr. J's fun. She used to think that if Batman were dead, she and Mr. J could be happy together, just like a normal couple, with him treating her with all the love and respect she deserved.

But she had been wrong. Mr. J would never treat her with respect, she realized that now. He was a bad guy, that was all there was to it. A bad guy who could never be redeemed, an evil, murdering, abusive monster. She never could have realized that before, when her mind was enslaved to him, but then something had happened that she hadn't expected.

She had fallen in love. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it had happened, but when Batman had visited her in her cell in Arkham and had taken off his mask, revealing his true identity as Bruce Wayne, a rush of love had swept over her, washing away all the bad Mr. J had done to her. Bruce had taken her in his arms and kissed her, and that kiss remade her, brought her back to sanity, made he realize what she always should have before – that she was worth more than a punching bag to a violent criminal. She supposed it was because Bruce had trusted her enough to share his deepest secret with her. Nobody had ever trusted her like that before. Mr. J had always just fed her lies and deceit, lies and deceit which she, in her madness, put up with.

But Bruce wasn't like that. He had been truthful with her from then to now. They had a special bond – maybe it was because they had been enemies first. Maybe it was because they knew each other so well because they had fought. Maybe it was because they had both been deeply damaged by the Joker. They were two victims of his who had found each other, and who had somehow fallen in love. Harley bet Mr. J wouldn't find that very funny. But she couldn't care less what he thought anymore. She was happy, for the first time in a long time. She was really, truly happy.

The door to the Batmobile opened and Batman climbed inside. "Who is it?" she asked him.

He looked at her but didn't respond, starting up the car. "Bruce? Who is it?" she pressed.

"I think it would probably be best if I take you home for this one," he said quietly.

"It's Mr. J?" asked Harley.

He nodded, gazing at her tenderly. "I just don't want you to be hurt by him anymore, Harley. Mentally or physically."

"And I don't want him to hurt you anymore either, Bruce," she murmured, raising a hand to his face. "He's caused you so much pain, probably more than me. I don't want you to have to face him alone."

"You know how dangerous he is, Harley," murmured Batman, quietly. "He'll have heard about us, and he won't like it. He'll try to kill one or both of us. I can't let that happen. I can't lose another person I love…"

"And I couldn't bear to lose you either, Bruce," replied Harley. "I'd go crazy," she whispered, managing a grin.

"You could never be crazy, Harley," he murmured. "Not to me."

She smiled and kissed him gently. "You gotta let me come with you, Bruce," she said. "Please. I want to face him. I want to show him how he hasn't defeated me. If you could look into the face of your parents' killer and show him the man you've become, wouldn't you risk anything to do that?"

"Not as much as I'd risk to bring them back," he murmured. "I couldn't bear it again, Harley. I can't lose you…"

"You won't, Bruce," she whispered. "It's a dangerous life you lead, I admit, but at least I'm used to it. And if I wanna be part of your life, you have to accept me being in danger too. And I do wanna be part of your life. If you love me, you have to let me do this. Please."

He nodded slowly, and took her hand. "Whatever happens, I want you to know…I love you, Harley."

"And I love you, Bruce," she whispered.

He kissed her and they drove off. Batman rested one hand on her knee as they drove, and Harley put her hand on top of his. She had never thought Bats capable of affection before, but she realized now that was because he had been afraid. He had been afraid of losing people close to him, since the damage from that first loss had been completely irreparable. And Harley had been afraid to leave Mr. J – she had been afraid of life without love. They had both found their courage, and their bravery had been rewarded. Life couldn't be lived in fear. That wasn't really living.

They arrived at the Joker's hideout and got out of the car. Batman squeezed her hand tenderly and then opened the door and strode into the darkness with Harley right behind him.

"Well, look who it is. The Dork Knight and the Dumb Blonde, partners on and off the job, or so I hear," sneered Joker's mocking voice. "Tell me, Bats, how does it feel to know I had her first? How does it feel to enjoy my used trash every night? How does it feel to know that the best you can do is a worthless little broad I dumped in the gutter?"

"Honestly, it makes me laugh," replied Batman. "She makes me laugh, which is something I never thought I could do anymore. You certainly could never make me, but it does amuse me to think that you never knew how good you had it. And now you've lost her forever. Don't you think that's funny, Joker?"

"Don't presume to tell me what's funny!" snapped Joker. "Neither of you are funny, Bats, you're just pathetic! Harley can't take the pain so she gives up and surrenders herself into the arms of some all brawn, no brain brute who can protect her from me! And you can't continue your great crusade to save Gotham from me without seeking solace in the arms of some mentally unstable, dumb blonde floozy! What's the matter, Bats? Was the night too big and scary without a goodnight kiss from Mommy?"

"Only you could twist something so beautiful into something so evil," murmured Harley. "That's what you do, Mr. J. You take all that's good in this world and try to break it down, try to maim it and twist it until it's as evil as you are. Well, it didn't work for me. You failed, Mr. J. And that's why you're really so upset about this. I won't flatter myself that you're jealous because Bats has me now – that would imply that you cared about me, which I know you never did. You're angry at your own spectacular failure. Well, you always will fail, Mr. J. Bats is the better man. He will always be there to stop you. And so will I."

They heard a maniacal chuckle. "Come and get me, then," Joker giggled. "C'mon, Bats, come and bring me to justice. I'm waiting for you."

Batman walked steadily forward into the darkness. Harley was about to follow him when she suddenly felt a cord wrapped around her throat and a hand clapped over her mouth, so that she couldn't scream and alert Batman. She was dragged to the ground, struggling desperately to get his attention as the shadows swallowed him up.

"Just you and me now, baby," hissed a voice in her ear. "And nobody betrays me, you little slut! Bet you thought that would be really funny, screwing my nemesis, but I guess the choke's on you after all!"

He giggled as he tightened the rope around her throat. "Funny, isn't it? For the first time in his life probably, Bats is truly happy. That ain't right, is it, baby? I'm the happy one, and he's the brooding, serious one. You really made the world crazy for a second there, didn't you, pooh? Well, Daddy's gonna make it all right again. Once you're dead, things can go back to the way they were. Bats will be even more miserable than usual, and I'll be laughing at his pain. Just think, Harl, you'll be going out with a laugh after all!"

Darkness began to cloud her vision as she choked, and all she could hear was his mocking laughter, overwhelming her senses.

And then he was ripped off of her suddenly and she could breathe. Her eyes adjusted to see Batman grasping Joker around the throat, hissing, "You will never hurt her again! Do you understand me?! Never again!"

Batman threw him to the ground and began beating him mercilessly. He had no intention of stopping this time – he was going to kill him. Joker would keep trying to hurt Harley, and he couldn't lose her. This was the only way to protect her. It would be breaking his code, but it was worth it, for her.

Harley struggled to her feet, gasping, and rushed over to them. "No, Bats," she whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder. He stopped punching Joker suddenly. "Please don't do this. Don't become like him. Be merciful, for me. If I can forgive him, so can you."

"He's hurt you so much, Harley," hissed Batman, glaring down at Joker. "He's hurt both of us so much. Why shouldn't I end it? Stop the pain, once and for all?"

"Because that's not what a good guy would do," murmured Harley. "And you are my good guy, Bats, and I love you just the way you are. Please don't change. Please stay my hero, Batman."

He sighed, but nodded, and secured Joker in handcuffs. Harley kissed Batman tenderly. "Thank you, Bruce," she whispered so that Joker couldn't hear.

Then she bent down and gazed at Joker who lay, battered and bruised, in a pool of his own blood. He glared back up at her. "You've lost, Joker," whispered Harley. "You've lost me, and you've lost everything. I'm glad you've got what you finally deserve. That's the thing about bad guys – they always lose. And I'm through with losers, now that I got my hero to save me."

She took Batman's hand. "C'mon, Bats, the police are on their way and they can escort him back to Arkham. We've got better things to do than waste anymore time with this loser. C'mon, I'll buy you dinner."

"Harley! Harley, get back here! Harley!" shouted Joker after them. She didn't turn back, she didn't even glance back, as she and Batman strode out into the night.

"Harley!" he shouted, a note of desperation in his voice. "Harley! Come back now, you dumb broad! You hear me?! Harley?! Come back!"

His only answer was the echo of his own voice around the empty warehouse. He was defeated, and he was alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Joker opened his eyes suddenly, startled by the dream. For a moment, he didn't realize it was a dream, and sat up in a panic, wondering how much time he had to escape before the police arrived. He began to calm when he noticed that he lay in his own bed. But then he panicked again when he realized Harley wasn't there.

"Harley!" he called. "Harley, where…"

But then he remembered. The events earlier in the evening all came flooding back to him. They had been out on a job when the Bat showed up to bust them. They had escaped back to their hideout, but he had been angry. He had been really angry, and he had blamed Harley for their failure. And Harley had shot her mouth off as usual, saying she didn't deserve his wrath, and that he should take it out on the Bat, who did – the kid had to learn not to give him lip, it only made him more angry. And so he had released his anger on her. He had beaten her, hard. He had told her she deserved whatever he said she deserved, and that she would take anything he gave her without question or protest. He had called her his property, his dumb little bitch, and threatened to throw her to the Bat himself if she didn't shape up. And she had been stupid enough to give him more lip, saying at least the Bat might treat her with some measure of respect, and that she must be crazy to put up Joker's treatment of her for as long as she had. Which of course had only infuriated him further. Her beating had been entirely her fault – she needed to learn to keep her useless mouth shut when he was in a bad mood, and not make things worse.

He had finished beating her at last, and she lay battered and bleeding on the floor, pools forming around her from the blood and tears that dripped from her. He had then said he was going to bed, and she was going to stay here, because she wasn't worthy to share his bed, not a useless waste of space like her. He wished her a good night, and hoped she could sleep despite the pain. And he had left her, laughing.

He felt bad about it. Not necessarily guilty, because she had deserved it for talking back to him, but it wasn't a good idea to treat her like that too often. It wasn't a matter of affection, just practicality. Someday she might stop putting up with it, and turn on him. And although the kid was pretty useless in a fight, she knew enough about him to be a nuisance if she ever did decide to join forces with the Bat.

With that in mind, he slowly climbed out of bed, threw on his robe, and opened the door, heading down the hall to the living room, where he had left Harley.

He opened the door to see her curled up in a corner, silent tears spilling from her tightly shut lids. He approached her quietly and knelt down beside her.

"Harley," he murmured, laying a hand gently on her shoulder. She flinched, opening her blue eyes filled with pain and rimmed with red and lifting them up to meet his.

"Harley," he whispered, gathering her in his arms and rocking her back and forth gently. "Oh, my beautiful, precious, little Harley girl."

She began sobbing, and he shushed her, kissing away the tears that trickled down her face. "Shh, shh, shh, baby," he whispered. "Shh, don't cry. Daddy's here, baby. Daddy's here," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"Why did you hurt me, Daddy?" she whispered. "I ain't done nothing wrong."

"Oh, pooh bear, you know me," he murmured. "I don't always have reasons for doing stuff. It wasn't you I wanted to hurt, you know that. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd never want to hurt you, baby, not my gorgeous little pumpkin pie. You do forgive Daddy, don't you?"

"I always forgive you, Daddy," she whispered, clinging to him tightly. "I love you, puddin'."

He picked her up gently. "Let's put you to bed, kiddo," he murmured, carrying her into their room. "Gotta make sure you're fighting fit, don't we? What would I ever do without my precious Harley girl at my side against the big scary Batman?"

It wasn't that he needed her on his side, he thought to himself as he lay her gently down on the bed – he just didn't want her on the Bat's side. He kissed her again and then went to find some bandages and antiseptic. He probably could still take them both if he had to, he thought to himself. No way that dream was accurate, no way he couldn't beat them, even if they did work together. But it had been a pretty crazy dream, when you thought about it. I mean, Bruce Wayne as Batman? Where the heck had that come from? The playboy billionare and the grim, brooding Bat-freak? Random, preposterous idea, as preposterous as Harley ever joining forces with the Bat. She was his Harley girl. His. His property. She would never leave him. He wouldn't let her.

He re-entered the bedroom and undressed her gently, stroking the hair back from her face and tenderly caressing the cuts and bruises with his fingertips. His pretty little doll, who never stopped gazing at him with wide, adoring eyes, even when he hurt her like this.

"Harley, I…" he began, but she put her hand to his lips.

"You don't have to say it," she whispered. "I know, Mr. J."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say," he replied.

"Yeah, I do," she whispered. "I know you. You're going to say you're sorry, that you didn't mean to do this to me, that you love me really. That's what you always say. I know that, Mr. J, I have to know it. It helps me put up with all this. It's why I put up with all this."

She hissed in pain as the antiseptic stung her cuts. Joker shushed her, kissing her forehead. "You can take the pain, can't you, baby?" he murmured. "You can always take the pain, right?"

"Sure, Mr. J," she whispered.

He grinned. "You're a fighter, kid, and that's why I love you," he murmured. "Don't ever change, ok, baby? Don't ever stop fighting."

She smiled at him. "You're talking kinda strangely tonight, Mr. J," she said. "Everything ok?"

"I had kinda a bad dream, kiddo," he said, quietly.

"About what?" she asked.

"Nothing that could ever happen in real life," he said. "But it still kinda shook me, y'know? The way dreams do."

"You wanna tell me about it?" asked Harley.

"Don't wanna bother you, kid," he replied. "Anyway, it don't matter. Like I said, it could never happen in real life. Never. Just a silly, crazy dream."

She nodded, and struggled to rise, gasping in pain. She slid her arms gently around his neck and held him tightly. "Well, don't let it bother you anymore, Mr. J. Your Harley girl's here, and she loves you so much."

He held her gently in return. "Harley?" he murmured.

"Hmm?"

"You ever…you ever wonder what it would be like…to be with…I dunno…a good guy?"

She stared at him. "A good guy?" she repeated. "I already am with a good guy, Mr. J."

"No, I mean a real good guy," he said. "Someone like…I dunno…Bats."

"Bats?" she repeated. "But he ain't a good guy, Mr. J. He's always trying to hurt you. Nobody's good if they can hurt the man I love."

"Well, pretend for a second you didn't love me, Harley," he said. "Would you think he was a good guy then? Y'know, for trying to stop bad guys like me."

"I can't pretend I don't love you, even for a second," snapped Harley. "That ain't funny, Mr. J, so don't even joke about it. I do love my bad guy, and I couldn't care less about any stupid, self-righteous good guy, so don't be silly. You sure you're feeling ok?"

He smiled at her. "Sure, kid, never better," he said, kissing her. "How are you feeling, pumpkin?"

"Oh, I'll live," she replied, shrugging. "Might even be able to sleep too, as long as I'm in the arms of my big, bad, strong lover."

He grinned and lay down, gathering her gently in his arms and holding her body tenderly against his. She sighed in bliss, her blue eyes radiating happiness again. "I love you, Mr. J," she murmured.

"I love you too, Harl," he whispered, kissing her again. Well, it was good to say it sometimes – kept the kid happy.

She beamed at him and shut her eyes, cuddling against his chest. He shut his eyes too and tried to sleep.

"Aw, man, look, Mr. J!" snapped Harley, suddenly. Joker opened his eyes to see, out the window, the Bat-signal shining brightly in the night sky. "Hope that ain't about us," yawned Harley. "That dumb jerk's always trying to ruin our fun. But we'll get him next time, won't we, puddin'?" she asked, snuggling deeper into his arms.

"Yeah. We'll get him next time, Harley girl," whispered Joker, as she shut her eyes again. He kissed her forehead, shut his own eyes, and fell asleep with a smile.

**The End**


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